ALERT Wildfire starts $1M fundraising campaign to increase fire camera program

ALERT Wildfire, formerly known as ALERT Tahoe, started in Lake Tahoe ten years ago and its initial 11 cameras have helped stop over 100 wildfires in the Lake Tahoe Basin. The cameras are strategically placed to watch for fire starts from lightning and other causes, notifying resources immediately before the fire can get big and unmanageable.

As the impact from out-of-control wildfires grows and the impact of their devastation widens, so does the need for more cameras. There are now almost 1,000 specialized camera installations used by first responders through California, Nevada, Oregon, Washington, Idaho and Utah, but more are needed to cover more areas. To view the whole system, visit http://www.alertwildfire.org/.

South Tahoe Now uses the cameras not only for scenic photos of Lake Tahoe, but to monitor fires and alert readers of any changes.

The Tahoe Prosperity Center (TPC) has started a fundraising campaign to expand the network of life and property saving ALERT Wildfire cameras, a project they helped support from the beginning.

“ALERT Tahoe started here 10 years ago and is now ALERT Wildfire," said Heidi Hill Drum, CEO of TPC. "Those initial 11 cameras have helped fire crews keep us safe from over 100 fires. Now, more than ever, we need the same kind of protection for other communities. Case in point, the Caldor Fire is knocking on Lake Tahoe's door.”

ALERT Wildfire is a collaboration between major universities (Nevada, Reno; Oregon; and San Diego), first responders (CALFire, Emergency Services), federal agencies (US Forest Service, Bureau of Land Management), and more, who use the strategically placed cameras 24/7 to protect people, homes, and
the environment.

Each custom-built camera costs money to install and maintain, but can save
countless lives and help prevent incalculable damage to our communities. Adding more cameras to the ALERT Wildfire network is a simple action to support the brave men and women fighting these wildfires.

(Read story on the final ALERT Tahoe camera installed at D.L. Bliss)

More cameras—and the funds to maintain and operate them—will help protect increasingly at-risk communities and give firefighters an invaluable tool for fighting these large, complex wildfires.

The idea of the ALERT Wildfire network was first conceived in 2009 by a group of high school students in Meadow Vista, Calif. The same group of students built the first prototype, and won the Innovate Award at the Children’s Climate Action in Copenhagen, Denmark. Over the past few years,
the program has expanded as a collaboration across nearly 90 federal agencies, utilities, and organizations.

Today, wildfires are having an increasingly dramatic impact on our planet and the brave firefighters who keep us safe, need our support.

“So many of us will never know the devastation that families in Grizzly Flats today are going through. Or that families in Greenville, Paradise and other areas have already gone through. However, we can help ensure our communities have this simple technology to be better prepared during fire season. The 11 cameras in Lake Tahoe have given firefighters early information so they could stop another 2007 Angora Fire that destroyed more than 250 homes in South Lake Tahoe,” added Hill Drum.

A camera view of the 2017 Lilac Fire in San Diego provided fire chiefs with the knowledge of conditions to move 43 fire engines to where they were needed, thus preventing even further damage than it was already responsible for.

Dr. Graham Kent of the University of Nevada said the response of engines sent to a fire could cost up to $90,000 and if knowledge allows officials to send to the right spot, the $25,000 camera pays for itself with one incident.

“If your company or community wants to add cameras, then please help with this fundraising campaign. Dedicate your fundraising effort to a camera in your community. We are starting this effort with a $1 million goal, but we hope other regions and companies with the ability to financially support these cameras will join TPC, CALFire, the USFS, and the volunteers at Google, among others to add to this life-saving network,” said Dr. Kent who developed the ALERT Tahoe program.

Fundraising will enable the next decade of ALERT Wildfire’s wildfire protection network to grow through the Tahoe Prosperity Center, the official non-profit of the ALERT Wildfire effort.

Google employees have volunteered their time to help create this fundraising
campaign.

"We also hope you will please share this campaign. The devastation we’ve seen already this summer, from the Caldor Fire, Dixie Fire, Tamarack Fire and Bootleg Fire shows just how vulnerable our communities are and why we need better protection against devastating wildfires," said Hill Drum.

To join in the fundraising efforts, contribute here: https://tahoeprosperity.org/alertwildfire/